Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska

The AMSS Twitter account is @AKMarineScience and will be using the #AMSS2016 hashtag.

The daily agenda is available online. The official opening plenary takes place Monday afternoon and includes invited keynote addresses. Poster sessions will take place on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Many partner organizations host workshops in the evenings and on Friday, January 29.

Scientist Wallace “J.” Nichols, author of the New York Times bestselling Blue Mind, will present cutting-edge neuroscience research about the benefits of being in, on, or simply near water. He will also describe his personal experiences with successful communication efforts related to the crucial importance of our connection to water that engaged people in problem-solving around ocean issues. In addition to being a scientist and author, Nichols is a wild water advocate, movement-maker, and dad. His research and expeditions have taken him to coasts and waterways across North, Central and South America, to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. This is what keeps his colleagues and collaborators working hard to understand and restore our blue planet. He is a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences and cofounder of Ocean Revolution, an international network of young ocean advocates; SEE the WILD, a conservation travel network; Grupo Tortuguero, an international sea turtle conservation network; and Blue Mind Fund, reconnecting people to water.

His research interests span ocean and aquatic ecosystems, migratory species, marine protected areas, fisheries management, and plastic pollution with special emphasis on building new action networks. He has authored and co-authored more than 200 scientific papers, articles, and reports and his work has been broadcast on NPR, BBC, PBS, CBS’ This Morning, Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Animal Planet as well as featured in Time, Newsweek, GQ, Outside Magazine, Fast Company, Scientific American, and New Scientist, among others.